Name of Marshfield native and former state trooper to be added to memorial in Washington

The late Ellen Engelhardt was one of Massachusetts’ first female state troopers, joining the force in 1981. This year, the Marshfield native will become the state’s first female trooper to be added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

By Staff

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Staff

Posted May. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 11, 2012 at 11:04 AM

By Staff

Posted May. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 11, 2012 at 11:04 AM

» Social News

The late Ellen Engelhardt was one of Massachusetts’ first female state troopers, joining the force in 1981.

This year, the Marshfield native will become the state’s first female trooper to be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The State Police, via Twitter, announced Thursday that Engelhardt’s name will be inscribed on the wall. Engelhardt died last June from injuries she suffered in 2003 when her parked cruiser was struck by a drunken driver in Wareham, not far from her home in Marion. She was 58 when she died.

Engelhardt never walked or talked following the crash.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial consists of two 304-foot marble walls that bear the names of more than 19,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty. The memorial, dedicated in 1991, sits on 3 acres of federal parkland in Judiciary Square in Washington.

The driver in Engelhardt’s accident was William Senne, who was 18 and a Roger Williams College student in 2003. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to drunken driving and driving to endanger.

Senne was sentenced to 2½ years in jail and released on probation in 2007. Three months after Engelhardt died, Senne was indicted by a Plymouth County grand jury on two new charges: motor vehicle homicide while intoxicated and while driving to endanger, and motor vehicle homicide while intoxicated.